Inkjet printing is a non-impact process of printing text or images by delivering and positioning precise small volumes of fluid with diverse chemical and physical properties on a substrate. Apart from document printing, the technique has been successfully applied in the areas of electronics, mechanical engineering, and life sciences.
The inkjet ink includes an ink vehicle and a colorant, such as a dye or a pigment. Dyes are more commonly used in inkjet inks, however, text or images printed with dye-based inkjet inks are generally less resistant to light, and water. On the other hand, pigment-based inkjet inks provide printed text or images having improved resistance to light, and water. While pigment-based inkjet inks have these desirable properties, they are significantly more difficult to formulate than dye-based inks. It is not easy to keep the pigment particles suspended in the ink matrix and prevent them from aggregating. This may not always have been observed for dye-based inks, as the dyes typically utilized in inkjet printing are substantially soluble in the ink matrix.